13 November 2015

101 Film Facts About Me

Thought it would be a good idea to include one of these lists as one of my initial blog entries. I was quite surprised at some of the things that made the list. Hope you enjoy!


1. Every year I get more and more obsessed with film and think "wow I knew nothing about cinema last year compared to what I know now".
2. While TV is experiencing a golden age at the moment, I believe film is also going through something of an era to marvel right now.
3.The way I viewed films altered (for the better) after watching Mulholland Dr for the first time
4. I wasn't sure if I even liked the film half way through. And then...WOW.
5. I still regularly think about it.
6. Wes Anderson was the first director in which I decided I had to watch his whole filmography.
7. Although he was a gateway director to many other great filmmakers for me to discover, his significance to me hasn't faded.
8. There is nothing better than when a good artist/band contributes a score to a really good film (e.g. Arcade Fire for Her, Phoenix for Somewhere, Grizzly Bear for Blue Valentine).


9. I love that the Cliff Martinez's song Lux Aeterna for the Requiem for a Dream score was so good that there was a period where it felt like every second blockbuster trailer was using it.
10. My favourite day of the year is the Oscars.
11. Closely followed by the day of the nominations.
12. In one day I watched Irreversible, Y Tu Mama Tambien and the Godfather Part II all for the first time. It was amazing.


13. Ever since I was in primary school I was the kid in the classroom who had seen all the films everyone wanted to see.
14. I feel sorry for people that think ALL Australian films are terrible.
15. But I do feel like too many of the same (and safe) films get produced.
16. I love how David Michod is smashing it internationally as an acclaimed director.
17. I love that at the 2001 Oscars Steven Soderbergh was nominated twice for best director. I mean, come on.
18. The Pixies 'Where Is My Mind?' + the ending to Fight Club = amazing.
19. It wasn't until I saw Annie Hall that I realised what an impact Woody Allen has had on comedies for the past 30-40 years.


20. For the past 10-11 years, not a Thursday goes by where I don't read the new release film reviews in the newspaper.
21. Even though I pretty much know everything I need to about the films by then.
22. I have a love/hate relationship with trailers. So entertaining but they give so much away.
23. I feel sorry for people that think the only films that get made now days are superhero movies.
24. Radiohead's 'You And Who's Army' + opening to Incedies = greatness.


25. I love that how a film is shot can be the difference from a good and great film
26. I love how a film sounds can be the difference from a good and great film
27. I love how a film is scripted can be the difference from a good and great film.
28. I'm not the biggest fan of romcoms. But I love Punch-drunk love, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Silver Linings Playbook.


29. I love how a good director and film can show how extradionary some actors actually are (e.g Jim Carry in Eternal or Truman show, Adam Sandler in Funny People of Punch-Drunk-Love or Jack Black in Bernie).
30. I wish all good directors were as prolific as Joe Swanberg.
31. Mad Max: Fury Road made me realise the potential value in sequels/reboots.
32. I love the fact that Emmanuel Lubezki could win 3 Cinematography Oscars in a row (The Revenant as a potential third).
33. Which is even more mind blowing considering he was robbed for not winning the Tree of Life at the 2011 Oscars.
34. I love that Black Swan was a commercial success.


35. I admire Joaquin Phoenix's film choices as of late.
36. I admire Jake Gyllenhaal's films choices as of late.
37. I admire Michelle William's film choices as of always.
38. I love that Lost in Translation was a commercial success.
39. I feel sorry for the past version of myself who used to never watch foreign films.
40. I still can't decide if I like Enter the Void or not.


41. I love that Moonrise Kingdom was a commercial success.
42. Some of my favorite animated films are Finding Nemo, Shrek 1 and 2, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Lego Movie.
43. I believe Charile Kauffman is an extraordinary screenwriter (I can't wait for Anomalisa).
44. And that the Duplass, Coen and Dardenne brothers are very talented siblings.
45. I wish I could be part of the three amigos (Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Guillermo del Toro Gomez.
46. Out of the three I would probably have to choose Inarritu as my favourite one.
47. It's no coincidence that my favourite Harry Potter film is the one Alfonso Cuaron directed (The Prisoner of Akzaban).
48. The Tree of Life. Enough said.


49. Elliots Smith's 'Needline in the Hey' + the scene with Luke Wilson in The Royal Tenebaums = groundbreaking.
50. I love when great filmmakers also direct in television (e.g. David Fincher for House of Cards, Cary Fukunaga for True Detective S1, Steven Soderbergh for The Knick or David Lynch with Twin Peaks)
51. I admire the film choices on Ryan Gosling, James Franco and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
52. I admire the film choices of Naomi Watts, Rooney Mara and Greta Gerwig
53. Despite the fact I love the use of music in film, I rarely enjoy films about musicians.
54. I understand that many share similar types of stories but I feel they are made all too similar.
55. The fact that Pi (Darren Aronofsky) was made for $68,000 in the 90s blows my mind.
56. 127 Hours is to me one of the most entertaining movies ever.


57. If it wasn't for David Fincher I would live a life thinking that watching someone type on computer must be boring.
58. I firmly believe that Holocene (Bon Iver) and Midnight City (M83) are some of the most played songs in films this decade (to my enjoyment).
59. I believe the next song to be over-used will be Red Eyes (The War On Drugs). I hope.
60. I love that sometimes it take all the way till the end of film for me to like it and realise how well it  works (e.g. All is Lost).
61. Polarising films excite me (e.g. Lars Von Trier films, Lost River).


62. I can't help but Imagine what if Terrence Mallick didn't take all those years off between Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line?
63. I love that Sundance films like Whiplash and Boyhood became Oscar winners.
64. My favourite thing about the Oscars is that it (sometimes) amplifies the audience for independent films.
65. Usually my most favourite films that are potential awards contenders get delegated to screenplay nominations.
66. I've never done hard drugs but I always seem to adore films that involve drug addiction (e.g Trainspotting, Requiem for a Dream, Chumbscrubber, Traffic, The Basketball Diaries, Drugstore Cowboy...)


67. Whites Lies's song Death + that scene in A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night = tremendous
68. When someone describes a film to me that I haven't seen as "too weird" or "I didn't get it", I Immediately need to see it.
69. 90% of the time I'm on wikipedia its due to film.
70. 70% of the time I'm on the internet its due to film.
71. Top 10 lists about film (no matter the subject) excite me.
72. War films usually turn me off.
73. But I still admire The Thin Red Line
74. Science fiction films usually turn me off.
75. But I still really really admire 2001: A Space Odyssey
76. And Under the Skin and Interstellar were some of my top films of 2014.


77. Gangster films usually turn me off.
78. But I still really like The Departed.
79. I haven't seen an Avengers/Marvel movie since 2011.
80. I wish Noah Baumbach was a househlod name.
81. And the world spoke in the dialogue of his films.
82. I can't stand reading books but I love reading screenplays.
83. The first screenplay I read was 50/50.


84. Skinny Love (Bon Iver) + Opening of Stories We Tell (documentary) = truly moving
85. When someone describes a film a few decades old with the sentence as "...has a cult following" I get excited.
86. I spend my time watching films more than any other hobby yet I feel my list of films to watch will always be growing rather than shrinking.
87. My life is timelined by films.
88. 3 years was not 2012, it was when Drive came out.
89. 6 years ago was not 2009, it was when In Bruges came out.
90. 9 years ago was not 2006, it was when Chldren of Men came out.
91. When I was 11 I made my family rent Lost in Translation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I didn't get the movies at the time but I definitely don't regret watching them then (or since).



92. Beck's cover of 'Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime' + the ending to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind = monumental.
93. I love researching what films were nominated for Best Picture, director, screenplay et al for past years of the the Oscars, Spirit awards, Gothams, BAFTAS...
94. I'm always in the hope that I will come across something I have not heard/seen before.
95. I wish there was a Best Picture award for films realised 10 years post release year. No politics. No awards narratives. No box office influence. I think films chosen would frequently be dissimilar to the ones initially selected.
96. Theres something really intimate about a really well made black and white film.
97. Despite not really loving any of the 3 films, I always found Dark Knight Rises better than The Dark Knight.
98. More often than not, I enjoy when films break the fourth wall.
99. Such as Ferris Buller's Day Off or Funny Games.
100. Theres not many things I find better than a good podcast about films.
101. Or blog.